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Now, normally the idea of him talking himself off the edge of sanity gives me a perverse sort of delight in contemplating it

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Now, normally the idea of him talking himself off the edge of sanity gives me a perverse sort of delight in contemplating it

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I think they (and a lot of Republicans) are pushing too hard for too extreme an agenda, and may well generate a backlash in 2012 if they keep it up

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If the employer is greedy or cheap, the workers may organize into a union. The union can then demand higher and higher pay and benefits until the employer goes out of business and is thus taught an important lesson about being nice, while all his now-unemployed workers can enjoy a hearty laugh at his discomfort.

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Recall is fine if proper procedures are followed. But death threats and the destruction of property have to be prosecuted

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At least 10 House Democrats who voted Sunday for health care overhaul have received violent threats to their lives or property. Several members have faced death threats and harassing phone calls while others have experienced vandalism at district offices or their private homes.

In one case, a gas line was cut outside the Virginia home of Rep. Tom Perriello's brother after a conservative activist posted the address online, mistakenly thinking it was the congressman's house. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating.

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Right-wing death threats rise: Republicans should condemn Rush Limbaugh

Meanwhile, death threats are rising against Democratic public officials. Abusive calls and threats are made against the homes of prominent Democrats. One House Republican leader referred to a Democratic member and said he can't go home; he's a "dead man.”

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I didn't see a single "anarchist" in the throngs of people, no one stirring up trouble just for the sake of it, no one instigating fights with the pro-Walker people or lighting cars on fire or whatever it is that Andrew Breitbart thinks anarchists do. I saw moms and dads and their kids, teachers and plumbers, security guards and cops and firefighters in kilts. Lots of college students. Plenty more retirees. No anarchists.

The night wasn't entirely without incident. Around 2 a.m., police officers in the capital ordered most of the protesters' signs to be removed and either trashed or stored in a massive pile for later use. That demand peeved a few people, to be sure, but for the most part everyone did as they were told. To their credit, the cops were firm but polite, taking questions, receptive to protesters' concerns.

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In a blog post today, right-wing radio host and ex-Tea Party Express spokesman Mark Williams said he plans to pose as an organizer for the Service Employees International Union and stir up trouble at a Sacramento labor union event. He's also urging his readers and other anti-labor folks to do the same in states around the country. "If I do get the ‘in’ I am going to do my darnedest to get podium access and take the mic to do that rant from there," Williams wrote. "With any luck and if I can manage the moments to build up to it, I can probably get a cheer out of the crowd for something extreme." Here's Williams' plan in full, per his post:

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Here is what I am doing in Sacramento, where they are holding a 5:30 PM event this coming Tuesday: (1) I signed up as an organizer (2) with any luck they will contact me and I will have an “in” (3) in or not I will be there and am asking as many other people as can get there to come with, all of us in SEIU shirts (those who don’t have them we can possibly buy some from vendors likely to be there) (4) we are going to target the many TV cameras and reporters looking for comments from the members there (5) we will approach the cameras to make good pictures...signs under our shirts that say things like “screw the taxpayer!” and “you OWE me!” to be pulled out for the camera (timing is important because the signs will be taken away from us) (6) we will echo those slogans in angry sounding tones to the cameras and the reporters. (7) if I do get the ‘in’ I am going to do my darnedest to get podium access and take the mic to do that rant from there…with any luck and if I can manage the moments to build up to it, I can probably get a cheer out of the crowd for something extreme.

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Williams goes on to say that his followers trying the same stunt should avoid confrontation because labor protesters "WILL have a mob mentality and ARE dangerous." He says lots of tea party groups have been barraging him with information about similar stunts and "vowing to participate and come up with their own creative ruses!"

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Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill, which would strip away collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions, is a drastic, some would say draconian, piece of legislation. But it is not without precedent. As Milwaukee County executive, Walker fought to fire the county's unionized prison guards and replace them with private contractors. The results were disastrous.

Walker's initial attempt to sweep out unionized prison guards was blocked by the Milwaukee County board. But in March 2010, he unilaterally rammed through the measure under the guise of a budget crisis, a power grab that angered officials in Milwaukee County. To replace the union workers Walker hired Wackenhut, a controversy-riddled British contractor. (It was employees of a Wackenhut subsidiary at the heart of the Kabul embassy scandal, where, as Mother Jones first reported, contractors were revealed to be a crew of drunken, debaucherous hooligans that hazed other contractors and partied like out-of-control frat brothers. Think vodka butt shots.) In another controversy, Wackenhut security guards were videotaped sleeping on the job at a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, revelations that shook the industry and resulted in a heap of criticism for the company.

Walker's hiring of Wackenhut quickly became a nightmare. After ramming through the proposal, an arbiter said Walker overreached, and repealed the firing of the unionized prison guards. That arbiter ordered Milwaukee County to rehire the union workers and repay them for the wages they lost, costing the county upwards of $500,000.

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The call reportedly arrived from Cairo. Pizza for the protesters, the voice said. It was Saturday, February 20th, and by then Ian's Pizza on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, was overwhelmed. One employee had been assigned the sole task of answering the phone and taking down orders. And in they came, from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, from Morocco, Haiti, Turkey, Belgium, Uganda, China, New Zealand, and even a research station in Antarctica. More than 50 countries around the globe. Ian's couldn't make pizza fast enough, and the generosity of distant strangers with credit cards was paying for it all.

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A new survey from Public Policy Polling released on Monday found that Walker's support has eroded among Wisconsin voters. In a hypothetical rematch with his 2010 Democratic opponent, Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, 52 percent of those voters say they'd opt for Barrett, while 45 percent picked Walker. That's a flip of the actual 2010 result, which saw Walker beat Barrett, 52 to 45 percent. It's actually Republicans, more so than Democrats or independents, whose shifting away from Walker would allow Barrett to win a rematch if there was one today. Only 3% of the Republicans we surveyed said they voted for Barrett last fall but now 10% say they would if they could do it over again.

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Much more, however, is at issue. On February 24, economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman headlined, "Shock Doctrine, USA," saying:

"What's happening in Wisconsin is....a power grab - an attempt to exploit the fiscal crisis to destroy the last major counterweight to the political power of corporations and the wealthy." It involves much more than union busting, bad as that is.

Hidden in the bill's 144 pages are "extraordinary things," including a provision letting Walker appoint a health czar to make draconian healthcare cuts to Wisconsin's poor and low-income households unilaterally.

Another one states:

"16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state-owned heating, cooling, and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state-owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss.196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49(3)(b)."

Call it the Koch brothers provision, multi-billionaire owners of Koch Industries, an industrial giant heavily invested in energy and power-related enterprises. According to Wisconsin campaign finance filings, Koch Industries PAC contributed $43,000 to Walker's gubernatorial campaign, second only to the $43,125 given by state housing and realtor groups.

Moreover, the Koch PAC helped Walker and other Republicans by contributing $1 million to the Republican Governors Association (RGA), that, in turn, spent $65,000 to support Walker and $3.4 million on television attack ads and mailings against his opponent, Milwaukee Democrat Mayor Tom Barrett. It made the difference between victory and defeat. Republican out-spent Democrats, sweeping many of their candidates to victory last November.

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you not liking my facts, or not agreeing with the conclusions OF those facts, doesn't dismiss them. As much as you may want to ignore and belittle the facts, they simply don't go away because you want them to.

When you can rationally and maturely discuss the issue, w/ out resorting to mindless name calling and insults, by all means, check back.

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want to hyper exaggerate / take wildly out of context something said, for the sake of demonizing an individual for disagreeing with their position.

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Walker also promised to help the state create 250,000 new jobs

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"Tonight, I want to tell every worker, every family and every business, big or small in this state, that you have an ally in the governor's office," he said.

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Barrett portrayed Walker as someone willing to say anything to get elected and said his proposed tax cuts would decimate public education.

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